Awnings are in popular use over residential and commercial windows to shield and shade the windows without obstructing the view. Awnings typically have a structural frame formed by connection of a plurality of load bearing members, which are spaced apart in a manner to provide support for the awning covering material. Mounting brackets are typically provided to affix the frame and covered awning assembly in position over a designated wall opening. Awnings are made in a variety of forms, all well known in the prior art.
Awnings are especially useful to shelter windows and entranceways and, in commercial buildings, may also bear signage. One common awning variety, as seen from the side, has the shape of a right triangle, with a vertical leg against the wall, a horizontal leg projecting outwardly and a downwardly inclined member to provide a run-off angle. Two such sides are connected by at least two horizontal, transverse members, so as to form a structural support for the awning. As viewed from the front, such awning frames may be made to any suitable width by lengthening the transverse members and adding inclined members as needed.
Awning frames are generally made of steel or aluminum and cannot have external projections that would chafe and fray holes in the cover fabric. As a result, welded construction has traditionally been preferred. Tubular steel has long been the material of choice, preferred for its stiffness, lightness and ease of welding as compared to other structural sections and materials. Many awning frames, especially larger ones, are fabricated by welding the members together in a shop remote from the place of installation and trucking them to their installation sites. Although this is an accepted practice, such awning frames are expensive to manufacture, heavy to carry and install, are bulky and difficult to maneuver and have no ability to be disassembled. It is almost impossible for awnings of this type to be mass-produced and sold in the mass market, because their bulk precludes shipment or holding in inventory. The lightness of aluminum tubing makes it a desirable alternative material but, it requires more specialized welding skills and, a welded aluminum awning frame, even though lighter, has the same generic limitations.
Marketing awnings in kit form requires the provision of hardware to connect the frame members. Various orthogonal connectors for tubular members, such as disclosed in Pestoor's U.S. Pat. No. 4,368,998 and others, are known in the prior art. However, awning frames vary so widely in height, projection and run-off angle, that making them for on-site assembly would require stocking an unpredictable variety of angular connectors. The frame member connections must also be such that the exterior frame surfaces are smooth and non-chafing. Although a connector might be envisioned and manufactured for a given junction angle, it would be an unreasonable expense to provide an inventory of such connectors for all junction angles. These factors have defeated past efforts to provide tubular frame awning kits for a broad range of dimensional requirements, except by field welding the structural members.
A first object of the present invention therefore, is to enable the assembly of tubular members for making an awning structure having any desired given height, projection and run-off angle. A second object is to reduce the labor costs involved in making the component parts this awning structure. A third object is to reduce the inventory costs entailed in providing such awning structures as kits. A fourth object is to improve the packaging of preformed components of this awning structure for handling and shipping and yet another object is to simplify on-site assembly of this awning structure.